MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How an Alonso cameo helped Norris prevent a Red Bull 1-2 in China

Max Verstappen enjoyed probably his most dominant victory of the season so far on F1’s return to Shanghai after a five-year absence. But Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso effectively performed an unintentional strategic pincer movement on Sergio Perez which prevented Red Bull taking a 1-2.

The way the race played out was dominated by the timing of the VSC and the following two Safety Car periods. The Red Bulls, on an aggressive two-stop strategy, had already made their first stops by then, both swapping their mediums for a set of hards.